Thursday, March 20, 2014

Are You Actually Enjoying Your Life?


Enjoy your life!
Just read a post by Shelagh Cummins, a business trainer & consultant for Mom Entrepreneurs and co-founder of MomBiz.com, and had to share a nugget of wisdom that applies to any area of life. In her Overcome Potential Obstacles post, Shelagh suggests creating a chart that lists potential obstacles you may need to overcome and your solution. The one that really hit home with me is this:
You realize halfway through the year that you’re not enjoying what you’re doing / You’re the boss… you get to close shop or hire someone.
Think about it - you really ARE the boss. While Shelagh is talking specifically about business, I want to go one step further and ask, "Are you enjoying your life?" If not, what can you do about it? What changes can you make to quit doing or make easier the things you don't enjoy?

Then over at Clear Voice Branding, Heather Poduska (personal branding strategist for female entrepreneurs) shares what to do when you don't see results. Again, this advice is aimed at business, but it applies to all areas of life. What specifically hit home with me is this:
You may not be focusing on the right activities...being busy and being productive are not the same thing...(what) activities...are a) absolutely necessary to run your business b) which ones have historically led to the kinds of results you are looking for. If an activity doesn’t fall into one of those two categories, either cut back on it or ditch it completely.
Beings it's the first day of Spring (yippee!!!) and time to do some spring cleaning, I think I'll focus on some life areas to spruce up in addition to those home areas that need attention. How about you? Is how you're spending your time either necessary or leading to the results you desire? If not, what can you do about it?

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Are YOU Grateful?

I just spent a few days in the hospital - as a visitor - and it's made me even more grateful for my health. I'm not getting any younger and all things physical aren't as easy and I often experience some level of discomfort or pain, but I'm upright and independently mobile so I'm way ahead of the game compared to a good percentage of folks I've seen lately.

Then I got home and found 5 Reasons Not To Be An Ungrateful Bastard over at Ending the Grind. The post is really good and well worth reading but what hit closest to home for me was one of the comments where Adrienne said:
"Until you’ve been around death and sickness a LOT, you just won’t get it. I’m grateful to be healthy and given a chance to have another day on this earth."

It's so easy to take health for granted. How often do you actually stop and think about your health when it's good? Poor health demands your attention, but good health is much quieter.

So if your health is good, show some gratitude, ok? And if it's not so good, do whatever you can to improve your condition.